Upgrade from xp home to xp pro

[Neal]

I recently upgraded my OS from XP home which came pre
installed to XP Pro. I no longer can access any files
which used to be in the My Documents folder on my XP home
version. I also lost office xp (and all of its
components) and all the programs in my start menu. The
program folders are still there they just seem to be
installed anymore. If I go back to XP home edition will I
be able to access my documents again and will all my
programs in the start menu return? Thanks for taking the
time to help me out. If you could reply to my email I
would greatly appreciate it. Thanks again.

Neal

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Neal,

1) You clean installed, not upgraded. An upgrade would have retained
programs and settings.

2) You can't return to your original setup, it is gone. An upgrade to an NT
system is not uninstallable.

3) Reinstall your programs from the original installation media to begin
using them again.

4) To regain your personal files, take ownership, see:

HOW TO: Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP [Q308421]
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308421

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone

 

[Myron J. Mandell]

It sounds like you did a clean install rather than an upgrade.
When you clean-install into an existing Windows folder, it wipes out
your existing Windows installation (with plenty of warning).

You will need to reinstall your software. Your documents should still be
there,
but the new Windows assigned a new, non-duplicative head directory under
Documents and Settings.
You can easily find the old My Docs folder, and copy the contents into the
new one.
You can also relocate the new one to the old one. (Well, may have security
problems on that one.)

If my guess is right, going back to XP Home will only make things worse, as
you will not be able
to do it without reformatting.

Good luck,

Myron